No matter how big Christian music gets in the South Bay, few outside the scene seem to take it all that seriously. But at the current rate of expansion, there’ll be around 2.3 Christian metalcore bands for every man, woman and child in Silicon Valley within the next three years.
OK, maybe not, but the explosion of religiosity in the music scene is pretty stunning, still. Even if they’re not getting recognition at home, the world at large is taking notice. I Am Empire, which formed in San Jose in 2008 out of the ashes of Vespera, was snapped up by Tooth & Nail—home to Christian rock heroes Underoath, and the hottest Jesus-friendly label of the last 10 years—in 2010.
The result was last year’s album Kings, a perfectly produced collection of alt-rock songs that made not only the Christian charts, but also the godless ones. That’s the interesting thing about I Am Empire: call them post-hardcore, hard rock, whatever, they are primed to be secular alternapop stars. Kings is a very accessible set of songs anchored by a highly personal narrative of pain and redemptive power.
And yet, unlike those annoying Christian bands that are afraid to just come out and admit that their beliefs define their music, I Am Empire has no such hesitation. They don’t play coy about the Christian message of their music, or their own faith; like it or roll eyes at it, you gotta respect that they’re so passionate about it.
The combination of sound and vision is perhaps that’s why many fans say I Am Empire can “save” Tooth & Nail, whose signings over the last few years have been unpopular among the faithful, and the mainstream aspirations of Christian rock.
I Am Empire’s show scheduled for March 31 at the Blank Club has been postponed. Watch this blog for an announcement of the new date.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIXn3GaEHwk[/youtube]
.Is Silicon Valley a Breeding Ground for Christian Rock?
